Field of the Invention and Description of the Prior Art
This invention relates to a unique gelatin capsule formulation and a method for its manufacture and it particularly relates to a soft elastic gelatin capsule (SEG) formulation, usually containing a fill material, wherein the formulation may be chewed in the mouth over an extended period of time.
Filled, one-piece, SEG capsules have been widely known and used for many years for a variety of purposes. These SEG capsules have properties which are quite different from two-piece telescoping hard shell capsules. The SEG capsules usually have a fill material, which is normally a liquid. The fill may be any of a variety of materials, such as industrial or cosmetic, non-consumable products, such as bath oils and adhesives. More commonly, SEG capsules are used to encapsulate consumable materials such as vitamins and pharmaceuticals. With reference to the application of William R. Ebert, et al., dated Oct. 24, 1980, Ser. No. 200,475, (now abandoned) there is disclosed a method and capsule, having no added masticatory substance, wherein the characteristic and sometimes unpleasant flavor of gelatin is masked with maltol or ethyl malthol. The avoidance of an unpleasant taste is particularly important when the capsule shell is chewed or otherwise broken in the oral cavity in order to release the fill. This is the case, for example, with a chewable cough, antacid, analgesic, or candy type of product.
With respect to providing a chewable, SEG capsule product, there is generally a significant problem because the SEG capsule generally dissolves rapidly in the mouth, thereby leaving little or no residue for further chewing. A chewable SEG capsule product should not only be non-toxic, but it should also be of a suitable size and leave a chewable, insoluble residue in the mouth and this residue should not change significantly in size upon continued chewing; at all times, the insoluble residue should retain a generally normal chewing texture or consistency. In addition, it has generally been considered a problem to prepare a SEG capsule containing an insoluble masticatory substance because the masticatory substance and the gelatin shell formulation itself are not considered to be compatible when using conventional formulations and SEG capsule manufacturing techniques.